Bad Reputation

Today I want to discuss two of the greatest, but shortest lived, shows to ever be aired. Freaks and Geeks and Undeclared managed to pack more laughs and brutal honesty about life as a kid and a young adult than probably any other shows that have ever aired. Both shows had the involvement of Judd Apatow, who many know now from his string of comedy hits such as The 40-Year Old Virgin, Superbad, and Knocked Up, which he has either directed, produced, or written. But before these highly successful movies, his brand of honesty and humor found a tough road to hoe on network television.

Freaks and Geeks came first, debuting in the fall of 1999. It centered on the Weir siblings Sam and Lindsey. Sam was younger, and his crowd was the geeks. Lindsey's crowd was the freaks. The show deftly examined just what it means to find your true self within a sea of conformity. Blessed with a gifted cast and brilliant writing, the show ably handled humor, angst, and real drama. It tackled large issues as well as small issues that seemed large to the characters. Of course such a show was destined to be short lived. It lasted a mere 18 episodes before NBC, in its infinite wisdom, pulled the plug.

Here is the intro, followed by a clip.





A little over a year after Freaks was cancelled, Apatow was back with Undeclared. Instead of an hour long show, this one was a half hour sitcom that aired on Fox. While Undeclared focused more on comedy, it still managed honest portrayals of its characters, never resorting to stereotypes. This show centered on the character of Steven Karp, a freshman at the fictional University of North Eastern California. He learns to cohabitate with his various roommates, as well as deal with his affection for Lizzie, the girl who lives across the hall. While several of the cast members were certainly more attractive than the typical college student, I still found the situations to be very true to the life of a college freshman. Just like Freaks and Geeks, it too got the axe prematurely, finishing with only 17 episodes.

Here is a link to one of the funnier parts of the series, followed by a short but hilarious clip.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mzaUga1b2Aw



I hope you'll check out these two great shows.

Transmission out.